Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 838 - 209: The Cheetah’s "Smile

"Ugh—"

Jabari was suspended in the air, desperately scratching at the increasingly tight lethal binding around his neck.

He even forgot he was a wizard, completely unable to remember the magic wand in his hand; his face quickly turned purple-red, and his eyeballs bulged out due to lack of oxygen.

Through blurry vision, he saw the long-disappeared lizard hanging from the branch above, its scales shining coldly, and those eyes were watching his dying struggle with cold ruthlessness.

This lizard... this lizard... really wants to kill me!

The fear of death surged like a tide into his heart, as his vision started to black out.

"Defodio!"

Clementine, whose whole body was stiff, finally reacted; her spell struck like lightning, precisely hitting the lizard’s tongue.

"Boom!"

Jabari fell heavily to the ground, gasping for air, not a moment of relief before wind rushed above his head—

The lizard poppet suddenly jumped down from the tree, directly pressing on him, its sharp claws gripping Jabari’s neck.

"Puff—"

Jabari’s eyeballs bulged as he coughed up a spray of blood mist, feeling like several of his ribs had instantly broken, and even his thigh was in intense pain.

"Jabari!"

Clementine screamed.

It’s not that there was a deep bond of camaraderie between them, but at this moment, she realized that Jabari had lost the ability to continue fighting, and she’d have to face two poppets alone!

When the lizard turned its head to look over, the girl didn’t continue to attack, but instinctively stepped back two paces, her eyes quickly glancing at the gaps between nearby trees.

Before she could think clearly about what to do, the distant cheetah suddenly crouched low, retreating with strength. In the next second, it shot out like an arrow off a bowstring, leaping through the air!

The cheetah’s body extended, jumping nearly ten meters with a single leap, directly passing through the golden mist!

"Ah—!"

Clementine screamed, turning to escape!

She ran faster than ever before; branches stung her face, and the trees around blurred into large blocks of color.

But could human speed truly surpass a cheetah poppet that never needs rest?

Clementine couldn’t resist looking back, expecting to see the face of a menacing cheetah close by, but instead was stunned to find—the cheetah hadn’t chased her!

It was gracefully crouched at the mist’s edge, with the corners of its mouth slightly upturned, like a chilling "smile."

...

Clementine fled while Jabari despairingly gave up resistance, consciousness waning, when a spell’s light descended from the sky!

"Diffindo!"

The lizard sprang off, the spell hit the ground beside Jabari, leaving a small pit in the soil.

Professor Flitwick’s short figure floated in the air on a broom, magic wand still directed at the two poppets, seeing them obediently retreat a short distance, as if knowing they couldn’t attack the patroller.

Only then did he land, bending down to check Jabari’s condition.

This Uagadou champion had a purple-red mark on his neck, blood on his face and chin, and his chest was visibly sunken.

He looked at Professor Flitwick with eyes that held hope, tried to open his mouth, but couldn’t say a word.

"Merlin’s beard!" Professor Flitwick’s whiskers twitched angrily, his little legs stomping thunderously on the ground and turned to the lizard poppet, angrily saying: "This is really over-the-line! How could Vid let you do such a deadly act?"

Lizard: "..."

It glanced at the cheetah, the two poppets exchanged a silent look.

Then, pretending not to understand, the lizard twisted its body, scuttling into the grass, disappearing in an instant.

When Professor Flitwick turned his head, he found the cheetah was also gone, and angrily glared again.

He hurriedly cast several healing spells on Jabari, stabilizing his injuries, then carefully levitated him to take him away.

...

The lizard lay on a deadwood piece, the cheetah crouched nearby, gazing up at the sky.

The two figures on broomsticks soared up and quickly vanished, while the bluebirds filming the competition site also flapped away, searching for more valuable scenes.

The forest returned to tranquility.

Then, a voice rang out:

"Why did you let Clementine go?"

The lizard’s scales opened and closed with its breath, its eyes fixed on the cheetah, questioning.

The cheetah lazily lay down, ignoring the inquiry, merely rolling a stone with its tail on the ground.

The lizard’s eyes focused.

It recognized the stone was an eye dropped by the ape poppet, but at that moment, it looked no different than an ordinary pebble.

Vid didn’t have the chance to choose any precious materials when creating them; using whatever was available, the forest’s stones, vines, feathers, and nuts.

The lizard’s tone softened slightly, yet was still displeased: "That’s not what the master commanded, are you planning to defy orders?"

The cheetah cast a sidelong glance at it, asking: "You think I’m going to defy orders? Then what do you intend to do?"

The lizard lifted its body slightly, speaking coldly: "Betrayal, death!"

The cheetah rolled its eyes, saying: "Did you forget what the master just said? If we can’t stop them, we can let them through."

The lizard suddenly realized: "You’re exploiting the master’s order loophole! You want to..."

The cheetah abruptly stood up, tucking its gaze which made the lizard instantly silent.

The cheetah picked up the stone from the ground, swallowed it whole, then turned and said: "Don’t obstruct me! The other target is yours!"

"But I can’t find her," the lizard said morosely.

"Idiot! Stay where the master walked, watch for the bluebird!"

Having finished, the cheetah leapt lightly into the forest.

Watching the companion disappear among the shadows, the lizard released a heavy sigh.

Then, it lifted its head, its broken tongue trembling rapidly, capturing extremely faint scents in the air.

...

Harry trudged heavily, making difficult progress in the Forbidden Forest; though ten minutes had passed without encountering danger, it didn’t mean he was at ease.

Tree roots resembling sleeping giant serpents could trip him if not careful;

Thorny vines dangled from above, some eager to ensnare him;

Brightly colored mushrooms exploded into choking powder upon contact, with Harry accidentally inhaling the fumes, dizzying his mind for half a day, as surrounding trees and weeds transformed into dancing little persons, laughing mischievously around him.

Harry forced to halt, after downing an Energizing Potion followed by two bottles of water poured over his head, finally cleared his senses.

He looked at the dense woods before him, unable to hide the worry in his eyes.